WMPG Sequester Buster! Come on by and see if we can fill up this studio with YOU! our listeners! Yea!
6/10/13
What do WMPG, Southern Maine's Community Radio Station, and the federal government have in common? They have all been sequestered!
With across-the-board federal budget cuts along with new rule changes at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, WMPG, the volunteer-run community radio station which broadcasts from the USM campus, finds that it now has a $12,000 budget shortfall for the current fiscal year.
What's a community radio station to do? WMPG operates on a barebones budget without padding for "extras" so we need to make up that shortfall with local support. Listeners to the 24 hour a day station who value the live, original, locally produced culturally diverse programming are going to be asked to help WMPG stay healthy and robust.
The SEQUESTER BUSTER, a two-day "rescue real radio" campaign will take place on the air Friday June 28 and Saturday June 29. In addition to the usual radio riot that occurs during fundraising campaigns on WMPG, there'll be a Saturday yard sale of music and swag and a cookout lunch on the front lawn of the station at 92 Bedford Street on the Portland campus of USM. Special guests, fun and lots of begging for your dough will highlight the two days.
You can help us bust this sequester right now - donate on-line here or you can also stop by and visit us at 92 Bedford Street, on the Portland campus of USM or just mail a check directly to:
WMPG Sequester Buster
96 Falmouth St.
Portland, ME 04104
WMPG depends on your generosity for our robust survival and listeners are the reason we are here.. and it's listeners who keep us going. Your favorite programs are created by talented and dedicated volunteers with well over 200 volunteers are at the broadcast helm of the WMPG ship. They make live, local radio fresh daily for you. You complete the circle of community radio when you support WMPG. Every dollar you donate is spent wisely and carefully, and is very appreciated by everyone at WMPG.
If you are inspired to give a substantial gift to WMPG, please contact Dale Robin Goodman, Development Director at 207 780-4151.
Want to see just some the WMPG Sequester Swag! Click Here!. We are also breaking out some of the old classics designs that have been kicking around so if you want to pick up some of the past t-shirts this is the time!
WMPG'S Board of Directors is seeking a listener from the Southern Maine Community as a representation of WMPG's audience. Listener Representatives are full board members and as such participate in formulating station policy and long range planning. These are two-year positions with meetings held the 2nd Wednesday of each month on the USM Portland campus.
Interested listeners can download an application here. Call (207) 780-4424 for more information or to receive an application, or send an e-mail to WMPG Listener Rep Search Deadline for applications is Monday June 3rd.
Download application here.
On June 6th WMPG presented another in a series of Radio Open Mics! Participants only had to show up at the WMPG studios and sign up and wait their turn then - step up to the mic - live on the radio!
Due to space limitations we were limited to acoustic instruments only. Comedians and spoken word performers were also welcome. Participants that couldn't make it or had a more elaborate production were encouraged to send in an MP3 file and these were featured in between live acts.
Radio Open Mic is hosted by Hosted by Lorenzo Raffa of WMPG's Thursday morning feature, "The Lorenzo Commentaries."
This is the tenth edition of Radio Open Mic. With its increasing popularity, Radio Open Mic is fun for the performers - AND the radio listeners!
If you have records, CDs or old turntables and amplifiers and speakers taking up space we will take them. This is a great way to support WMPG and free up some space in that garage or attic or living room! The sales from the event go to help WMPG obtain equipment and offset other fees.
Call (207) 780-4424 or e-mail the stationmanager@wmpg.org. Our crack team of drivers will quickly arrive at your house to clean away all those old records that are taking up space! We will then give you a receipt which can be used for a tax deduction! Thanks again for to everyone who already donated the records and CDs!
WMPG's presented the 9th Annual WMPG Fashion Show on April 20th at The Asylum.
The show featured locally designed fashion and accessories for women, men and children. Styles include casual to formal to unique and offbeat.
The fashion show celebrates the wearable art of creative designers in Maine.
Designs range from formal wear to up-cycled clothing .
Also featured were special performance by Pragma, featuring the Hoop Vixzens - dazzling sights for your eyes to behold - dancers with hoops , fans & other props for our pre-show.
Artistic Director - Cindy Flanders
Music was by DJ Funky PJ
Technical Director - P.J. Paraskevas Entertainment
Video by Foo Crew and Avenue Media
Runway Manager - Suzanne Madore
Video Production - Josh Gates - Foo Crew
Lights - by Gunnar Bailey-Worth - Color Coordination
Sound - Keith Mann - Asylum
Runway Carpenter - David Herter
Official Photographer - Magdalena Niziol - Magdalena Niziol Photography
Hair & Makeup!
Krystal - Bang! Cut and Color Salon (Portland)
Ashley St. Pierre - Makeup for IF Jewelry
Estelle Glendon - Stephanie Harmon;s model's Hair and Makeup
Tanya Kelly - Hair and Makeup
Susanne LeDoux - Makeup
Opening Performers:
Alexis Golubow, Nikki Hunt, Holly Danger, Sarah Synn, Genger Rita, Little Miss Rosie, Aquarius Funkk.
Featuring Designs by:
Blood & Whiskey Studio, Deborah Mac Designs, Erika Lynn Desighns, MintPig Printing, Stephanie Harmon, Aquarius Funkk, Raisa Sabelnikova, Sprocket Screenprinting, IF Jewelry, Giselle LaFrance, Emma Egan
For more information email Artistic Director Cindy Flanders at Fashion@wmpg.org.
Wow - what a day. The turnout was huge this year for the 18th annual WMPG Cajun Cookin' Challenge. More than 500 people attended the event and when all the votes were counted we had a tie for first place! Congrats to the Congress Bar & Grill and The Great Lost Bear. They will each have the bragging rights for top honors! Coming in second this year was Local Sprouts Cafe. Also a huge thanks to Sylvain's Acadian Aces for the live and authentic Cajun music!
If you missed out the party well you will have to wait another year or take a trip down to New Orleans! That sounds like fun. Check out this nice feature the Bangor Daily News did on the event! BDN Fearture Link
Your old car -- think it's not worth much? Well it may be gold to WMPG! If your car has an engine and is towable... and you have the title, call 1-888-WMPG-AUTO to see if your old wheels may be eligible for a tax deductible donation to WMPG.
You make the call... and we take care of the rest!
Wanna hear some fun audio promos to spur you on to donate that heap to WMPG!
1)Ford Two-Ton Truck owner discovers that WMPG will pick up your old pick-up! Creative: Dan Malcolm Voice: Dan Malcolm Tech: Steven Lee.
2) You Drive a Crappy Car #3 Don't drive a crappy car - donate it to
WMPG! Creative: Lorenzo Raffa Voice: Lorenzo Raffa Tech: Lorenzo
Raffa
3) You Drive a Crappy Car #2 Don't drive a crappy car! Donate it to WMPG! Creative: Lorenzo Raffa, Voice: Lorenzo Raffa, Tech: Lorenzo Raffa
4) You Drive a Crappy Car #1 Don't drive a crappy car - donate it to WMPG! Creative: Lorenzo Raffa, Voice: Lorenzo Raffa, Tech: Lorenzo Raffa
5) Why Did You Donate Your Car? Man/Woman on the street interviews with car donors. Creative: Dan Bernard, Voices (all of them): Dan Bernard, Tech: Michael Townsend
6) Wall Street CEO One percenter discovers the joy of donating his old Jag to WMPG! Creative: Dan Malcolm, Voices: Dan Malcolm, Alex Ragusa, Tech: Carrie Corrow
7) Irrational Jack's Mystery Car Lot Homage to local car dealership super stars. Creative: Dan Bernard, Voices: Dan Bernard, Tech: Michael Townsend
Wow what a day. The Guns'n Rosies bowling team took home the trophy in an epic battle after that the bands rocked into the night! A huge thanks to the bayside bowl, the Toughcats, The Wetsuits, Sean Mencher and The Cozmik Zombies! for making the "Bowl-a-thon & Dance-a-thon a fantastic success! We can't wait for next year!
OK - With the new transmitter and antenna in place WMPG is now broadcasting to all the communities which house USM campuses! Just five months ago WMPG's signal range and quality was mmmmuch smaller and of considerably less quality.
If you've just recently found us thanks for joining the WMPG family! You might not even realize that until December 19, 2011 when the FCC gave us the ok to crank up our new transmitter to 100% that WMPG was hard to receive just a few miles out of the Portland area. Now WMPG's signal is heard well into New Hampshire and north towards Augusta!
Formerly, WMPG broadcasted at 1100 watts from a tower atop Bailey Hall in Gorham. WMPG is now broadcasting from a 500 foot tower atop Blackstrap Hill in Westbrook with full power, at 4500 watts.
With the signal increase in place we want to know how we sound where you live. Everyone is invited to call our Begathon Phone-line and leave a message about how WMPG sounds where you live. Please call 207 874-3000 to let us know how we sound or send an or e-mail to the stationmanager@wmpg.org.
Our project was featured in a number of area newspapers including
The Bollard
On April 11th and 12th the Center for Bio-ethical Reform's Genocide Awareness Project came to the Portland campus of USM. This controversal anti-abortion display features large-scale graphic photos displayed in a public setting, and compares abortion to genocide. WMPG work study students Rachel Stearns and Ross Gauvin talked to project members and to members of the USM community about the display, and filed a well-done news report. Listen here.
Every Wednesday night at 7:30pm local psychiatrist Dr. Anne Hallward conducts half hour interviews on subjects that are uncomfortable, painful or shameful to talk about. The hope is that in making difficult subjects discussable, we are all freer to express ourselves more fully.
On Wednesday, March 28th, Dr. Anne interviewed Maine's governor, Paul LePage about his childhood growing up in a home with domestic violence. In the half-hour conversation Governor LePage describes the moment when he decided he had to leave home: the moment when his father tried to pay him to lie to a doctor about the cause of his injuries. He describes living with the fear that pervaded his childhood home, and his attempts to protect his mother from his father's assaults. LePage then goes on to challenge men to speak up against domestic violence in settings with other men, and to create a culture that has no tolerance for attitudes and behaviors that belittle women. He talks about his vision for new laws in Maine that protect women from batterers and bring abusers to justice.
On Thursday March 29, on the "Hukkin' A Chainek" program, Steve Hirschon interviewed jazz legend Ben Sidran about his new book: "There Was a Fire:Jews, Music and the American Dream." Steve and Sidran spoke about the historical, spiritual and cultural aspects of music and how Jewish immigrants had an outsized impact on American popular music.
Fascinating and thought provoking! WMPG is honored to have an artist of Sidran's caliber on our air.
You can find out more about Ben Sidran at Bensidran.com
Rachel Talbot Ross is the State Director of the Maine NAACP, and President of the NAACP's Portland Branch. This morning, Ms. Talbot Ross visited the WMPG studios to participate an audio project being prepared for a MLK Day radio special.
She talked with WMPG Volunteer Reporter Lorenzo Raffa about today's response from Maine Governor Paul LePage to invitations from the Maine NAACP to attend events honoring Dr. Martin Luther King. If you would like to hear their conversation, Click here to listen.
Phoenix Glass Studio
630 Forest Avenue
Portland, Maine
207.774.4154
PhoenixStudio.com
Take whatever images your mind conjures up after hearing the phrase "stained glass" and smash'em.
Walking into Phoenix Glass Studio, one proceeds with the utmost delicacy; It's easy to feel like the bull in the china shop and to be intimidated by the beautiful glass pieces that compose the studio. But surprisingly, you'll be greeted by Sammy, a bulky and excitable Labrador - A bull in a china shop! You can feel completely at home.
Phoenix glass was established in 1976, and has survived many bulls in the forms of fires and vehicles. Their beautiful art, contemporary and hardy, has survived and is as striking as ever. Once in the Old Port, Phoenix studio is now settled in on 630 Forest Avenue, a lovely little hub with a plethora of windows (some newly discovered) perfect for their eclectic display.
WMPG Community Radio and the St. Lawrence Arts Center presented a special series of events with Maine's own master of song and story, Gordon Bok on Sunday September 19. Talented multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and purveyor of the lore of coastal life, Bok took the stage at 7:30 PM at the St. Lawrence. Bok also presented a Guitar Workshop that same day, and an exhibit of his wood carvings grace the gallery walls at St. Lawrence Arts for the month of September.
Gordon Bok is timeless. Seafarer, songwriter extraordinaire, excellent instrumentalist, and "painter" of moods, he takes his audiences over the bay and out to sea, through a labyrinth of emotions from joy to fear, and awe at the immense wonderment of the world we live in. Free of even a hint of self-infatuation, his concerts are devoted to songs rooted in history or sparked by the imagination. For decades now, Bok has been writing and collecting songs inspired by life in Maine and the Maritime Provinces, so it wasn't surprising to hear well-crafted tales of loggers and river drives and battles between American natives and settlers.
More information at stlawrencearts.org
Gordon Bok's Wood Carvings: Unbeknownst to many fans of Gordon's music, he is also an accomplished visual artist. His work will be on exhibit at the St. Lawrence Arts Center for the month of September, beginning with the First Friday Art Walk on September 3rd.
All proceeds from this event benefited both WMPG and St. Lawrence Arts
WMPG is pleased to report that we have begun the process of web-based electronic playlisting. We're using a service called Spinitron to make our volunteer hosts' playlists available to you and your fellow listeners online, often in real time. Not all our shows are on-line yet, but more are being posted every day, and the whole schedule will be up soon. If you're interested in taking advantage of WMPG's new on-line playlists, go to Spinitron.com or click on the playlist button on our home page. Just another way we're striving to improve our service to you as Southern Maine's Community Radio station from USM.
Lars - WMPG's host of You'll Dance To Anything, Sundays 9-11pm also presents us with
Gallery Talk, a 2 minute arts module heard weekly on WMPG. He also provides it in a blog format. Gallery Talk can be heard Thursdays 7:00am, 5:00pm & 8:30pm on WMPG! Or check out the blog at gallerytalk-lars.blogspot.com
We are proud to report that WMPG's own Blunt Youth Radio program was featured on the WCSH 207 program.
The Blunt Youth Radio Project produces a weekly call-in talk show that airs Monday nights from 7:30-8:30 on WMPG, Southern Maine Community Radio. High school age youth from the Portland area, both free and incarcerated, staff the show. Blunt Members are trained in all areas of radio production: interviewing, hosting, reporting, editing, and engineering. The show has won several Gold and Silver Reel Awards from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters and a number of First Place Radio News Awards from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.
Fred Greenhalgh(on left) also recently won an Ogle Award
We're happy to report that WMPG volunteer Fred Greenhalgh and his production company FinalRune was featured in the Wall Street Journal on February 25, 2010.
The article, entitled "Return With Us to the Thrilling Days Of Yesteryear - Via the Internet," heavily focused on his signature field recording style and director Fred Greenhalgh's passion for reviving audio drama in an age of the iPod.
Fred shows off his new Ogle with Master of Ceremonies, Jerry Stearns
Fred Greenhalgh, volunteer producer of the program Radio Drama Revival on WMPG, has won the Gold Ogle Award, an international audio drama award for Best Fantasy Audio Drama. He won it for "Waiting for a Window," a surreal tale of Norman, a sailor who finds himself stranded on a strange tropical island where no one ever seems to leave.
The half-hour drama was produced by Greenhalgh's Portland-based FinalRune Productions. It was recorded entirely on location in the Portland area -- at marinas, marshes, the beach, and an abandoned mill space in Biddeford. It debuted on WMPG, and features a talented local cast including Ed Patterson, Bill Dufris, and Philip Hobby.
Greenhalgh had the opportunity to personally receive the award in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the CONvergence festival.
The "Ogle" is named for Charles Ogle, who played the first Frankenstein's creation in Edison's silent 1910 film of the famous science fiction horror novel. The award celebrates the best fantasy/audio production of the year.
Greenhalgh's program can be heard each week on WMPG, Thursdsay afternoons from 1 to 1:30pm.
"There are a remarkable number of photographs of the Malaga Island community. Newspapers published several dozen photos over the years sometimes in a kind of newspaper photo-spread unusual for the time period. Photos were also taken for postcards. This postcard image was titled "The Deuce of Spades." In the picture is probably Annie Parker holding Pearl Tripp. Some contend this picture was posed purposefully in an animal pen. Photo Courtesy Maine Historic Preservation."
In 1912, the state of Maine evicted about forty-five people from Malaga Island off the coast of Phippsburg. The island residents were poor, black, white, and mixed race. The eviction is typically viewed as a shameful moment in the state's history. WMPG-FM, in collaboration with the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, announces the premier of Malaga Island: A Story Best Left Untold, a radio and photo documentary recounting this infamous event and its impact on several generations of descendents.
Malaga Island: A Story Best Left Untold includes an hour-long radio program plus a gallery show featuring photographs, audio, and a panel discussion. The radio documentary aired on WMPG, February 26th. A gallery opening will took place at Salt.
"This is one of those stories where people say 'That happened in Maine?!' or 'The state did what?!' Then they say 'Tell me more,'" said Rob Rosenthal, radio producer for Malaga Island: A Story Best Left Untold....
Music Reviews by WMPG DJ's THE CURE 4:13 Dream Suretone/Geffen Records; 2008
By Ron Raymond
WMPG Music Director
How does a 32-year-old alt-rock/goth band get the fans
excited about a new album months in advance of the album’s release
date? Well, to prepare for the 13th album by 80s alt-rock/goth heroes
The Cure, 4:13 Dream, the 4-man band led by Robert Smith, released singles
on the 13th of each month leading up to the album’s initial release
date of September 13th. Each of these singles had non-album B-sides, which
have always been a Cure staple. However, the album got pushed back to
October 13th and was ultimately released on October 28th. After a remix
EP was released on September 13th to tide fans over, the album arrived
and is the first album since 1989’s Disintegration that, for the
most part, sounds like The Cure we used to know.
4:13 Dream opens up like several Cure albums past –
with a long track. In this case, it’s the song “Underneath
The Stars.” The song echoes back to Disintegration, by far the band’s
biggest album to date. First single “The Only One” also echoes
back of Cure days past, to songs like 1985’s “In Between Days,”
1987’s “Just Like Heaven” and 1992’s “High.”
It’s refreshing considering how awful 2004’s self-titled album
was. There was maybe one good song on the whole thing. It’s nice
to see Robert Smith and Co. going back to basics.
The album does, I feel, take a couple of missteps in
the songs “The Real Snow White” and former single “Freakshow.”
These songs sound like the more recent Cure offerings and they don’t
feel like they belong in any album. They just seem out of sorts compared
to all of the other great cuts. Other highlights on 4:13 Dream include
the sweet but short “Sirensong”; one of the singles and my
favorite song on the album, “The Perfect Boy”; the simple
but lovely “This, Here And Now, With You”; and, “Sleep
When I’m Dead,” which sounded to me at first like an older
Cure song – and now I know why. Upon further reading, “Sleep
When I’m Dead” is actually a song that was originally written
for the 1985 album The Head On The Door.
Do I think like The Cure are headed back in the right
direction? Yeah, I do. 4:13 Dream is the first studio album that reunites
original member Porl Thompson with the band since 1992’s Wish. And,
strangely enough, in Spain, where the Cure have never had much success,
the first three singles off the album have all gone to #1, with “The
Perfect Boy” reaching #2. This album makes me look forward to their
next effort, so I can applaud that one as well, because I believe the
Dream is real – that The Cure can (and will) still make some truly
good music.
Next time you bring back bottles and cans you can help support your favorite local community radio station...And you don't even have to get dirty! CLYNK, a new local redemption program, will let you turn in a bag of bottles and/or cans at any participating Hannaford and will credit it to WMPG. There are special bags, which you can pick up here at WMPG, that have a barcode. Want us to mail you a few of them - no problem! Shoot us an e-mail to WMPG Station Manager. When you fill them up and drop them off the barcode will credit your (5 and 15 cent) returns to us! It's that easy.
Participating Hannaford stores include: Biddeford, Brunswick, Buxton, Falmouth, Lakes Region (Windham), Portland (Forest Ave), Saco, Sanford, Scarborough (CLYNK's flagship location), South Portland (Mill Creek), Topsham, Westbrook, Yarmouth, and York.
A big thanks to Jan, host of Local Motives, who had some quick thinking when she learned about the program and added us in!
For more than ten years WMPG DJ's had Phil Hersey to thank for keeping all the equipment up and running. Phil's favorite time at WMPG was either late at night repairing equipment or when a band was playing and he was the engineer. Phil was the WMPG Technical Director and engineer for our Local Motives program, the program dedicated to live local music. If you were in a local band around here for the last decade, chance are Phil made you sound good. He was an institution within the local music scene. Phil passed away in 2004 and last year WMPG DJ Lars Lindgren completed this monument to him. If you want to hear some of Phil's work just call one of our DJs and ask for some local music. We have more than 500 recordings in our library which he mastered. We miss ya Phil but are happy that your passion and love for live music has lived on here at WMPG!
WMPG's Dave Wade interviewed independent journalist Dahr Jamail
On Wednesday, September 27th, WMPG's Dave Wade interviewed journalist Dahr Jamail. Jamail is one of only a few independent US journalist who has spent time in Iraq during the war. His MidEast Dispatches have become critical material for publications such as The Nation, The Sunday Herald, Islam Online and the Guardian.
Jamail is in Portland to speak at USM at the Abromson Community Education Center. Before the evening event he visited us.
Have you ever wondered what WMPG's music library looked like or perhaps the on-air studio? If yes, then here it is, we recently took out our digital camera and took a walking tour. Take a look at our 67,000 cds and 30,000 lps! Check out our new audio console compliments of the Maine Association of Broadcasters. Meet a few of the people that keep WMPG running! Thanks to Stephanie Sample for the creative editing of the video.
Call 1-888-WMPG-AUTO to donate your car to WMPG!
We've teamed up with the friendly folks at The Center for Car Donations to coordinate this effort.
WMPG is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting a federally funded program that promotes the growth and development of public media in communities throughout America.
THE CURE
Call 1-888-WMPG-AUTO to donate your car to WMPG!
We've teamed up with the friendly folks at 
WMPG is funded in part by the 
A Radio & Photo Documentary
Discount Computer Sales and Road Runner Access for USM Students and Employees!
Click here for a VIDEO TOUR of WMPG
Click here for Homefront Veterans Oral History Project
WMPG is now broadcasting a digital signal. Click here to learn more.
